Anamnesis of Ardor
by jen0va99
Summary: A trip to Destiny Islands leads Cloud to meet his new fiancée’s family. Too bad he didn’t know an old, secret infatuation was on her older brother, and past feelings would surface. [Yaoi; AU; SephCloAer triangle, event. RikuSora; SephLeon, TidusSelph
1. Prologue

****

Disclaimer: Sure, I own Kingdom Hearts. Final Fantasy, too. I am a huge success. Ha. (AGH don't sue me, Squeenix, it was a joke!)  
**Rating**: R; Shounen-ai (will become yaoi), language, future situations, AU, probable OOC-ness.  
**Main Pairings**: Sephiroth x Cloud, Aerith x Cloud (triangle); eventual Riku x Sora  
**Notes**: …a romantic comedy?! I'm writing a ROMANTIC COMEDY?! What's wrong with me?! Yeah, a little surprised at myself for that, especially the Cloud x Aerith thing. Never thought I'd do that, either. Tee hee… but I got glomped by a plot bunny, and I think it broke a few ribs. Ouch.

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**Prologue**  
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…it was time. Everything was perfect - the setting, the mood, hell, even the _lighting_ was suitable for romance. Cloud didn't mind the fact that they were in a restaurant, either. In fact, it heightened his desire for it to happen. Let the people watch if they wanted to. Let them all see him claim the one he loved, forever.

He looked into the deep, forest green eyes across from him and smiled. They were so full of love for him - and only him, he knew it. This would not be a mistake. True, they were both kind of young, but… he wanted this. He knew she would want it, too.

It wasn't as if they were dating for just a little while, either… he devoted a little over a year of his life to his love, and knew the first time he laid eyes on her that she was, as cliché as it was, 'the one'. And he _wanted_ to spend the rest of his life with her… she would be his wife and the mother of his children, living in a cozy house in Traverse Town, yard surrounded by a white picket fence… and they would have a pet dog. Or maybe a duck.

Cloud had a strange love for ducks… _not_ in the perverted sense, but he did like them enough to own one.

…of course, getting married meant no more dating other people - and no more looking, either, when she was around. He didn't really mind the dating fact much, as she was the only one he ever truly went out with… Cloud was one of those types who were fond of gazing and longing, but too shy to do anything about it; luckily, Aerith wasn't. In fact, she was rather bold, asking him on a date the same day they met in one of Traverse Town's public libraries.

She was there looking for a book about flowers. He was there just to kill time before work, flipping through - for some reason - a book that she wanted.

The two just… clicked. He truly loved her, and she loved him.

…so why couldn't he shake that damn foreboding feeling? It wouldn't be a mistake to _ask_ for her hand, as he was positive she would accept him…

…maybe…

…she wouldn't refuse, would she? No, she wouldn't… he hoped. Cloud bit his knuckle; the small box sitting in his pocket suddenly felt all too heavy, reminding him it was there and waiting. He bit harder and was only a little surprised to find his hands shaking. Damn jitters.

Damn _ring_.

Damn **_question_**…!

"Hey, are you okay?"

He jumped. Aerith was looking back at him through the candlelight, frowning with concern, a hand he hadn't noticed touching his forearm. Cloud focused all of his attention on her, drowning out the soft murmurs of conversing restaurant-goers and the violins in the background.

Looking up into those beautiful eyes, Cloud smiled and nodded, taking the girl's hand in both of his own. "Yeah. I'm with you, aren't I?"

She gave him one of her usual, brilliant smiles and laughed softly. He always seemed to have a way to brighten her already cheerful mood with a few kind words, he noticed, and often used that to his advantage. "Cloud…"

The blonde began to fidget. He was going to do it now… _now_.

Cloud gulped.

Now?!

What if she said no?!

In front of all those people!!

What the hell could he do if she said no, bury his head into his mashed potatoes?!

With his eyes widened slightly, Cloud looked down at the mound of white on his plate and considered the possibility. Upon brief observation - as well as a bit of stirring with his fork - he concluded that the potatoes were a bit too shallow to provide true protection from his impending humiliation… but maybe if he was lucky, he could inhale some of them through his nose and choke to death…

"More wine, Madame?"

Thank the gods for distractions.

Aerith looked up at the waiter, a tall, stately gentleman with short red hair and a scar running down his cheek. He tapped the side of a bottle filled with red wine and grinned politely. "Well…" After a short moment of thought, she shrugged, still smiling. "I guess another glass couldn't hurt."

Cloud watched the burgundy liquid pour into Aerith's glass a little too closely. …it looked like blood. The wine was disturbing him more than his mashed potatoes of doom.

He jumped again when Aerith kicked him under the table and found the waiter staring at him. Cloud's blue eyes were large and vapid as he tried to recall exactly why he was being watched so intently, but his brain blanked the second he was jolted from his gaze on the wine.

"…um…"

The waiter cleared his throat before pasting an obviously forced smile onto his face, and Cloud couldn't help but wonder if all waiters hated their job as much as this one did… "_Wine_, Monsieur." He accented the word with a slight swish of the polished green bottle. "Would you like more wine?"

Cloud blinked.

"…I think he's had enough already, thank you," Aerith answered for him, still frowning. "…are you sure you're alright, Cloud?" she asked as the waiter took his leave, her head tilted just slightly in concern. "Because you seem a little… out of it."

The blonde's eyes targeted his potatoes again, poking them warily. It would be nice if he could just put his own worries aside for a minute and ask her, but for the moment his food was more interesting. He knew it was stupid to keep procrastinating the way he was, since the fear that she would refuse was most likely unjustified…

Dammit, if only he wasn't so neurotic…

"You're awfully quiet, too… this isn't like you, Cloud…"

"I'm fine…"

Aerith made a small noise and shrugged, picking daintily at the remains of her meal. Chocobo steak. Cloud never figured the girl would eat Chocobo - or any meat, for that matter - but she indulged in it often. Just another one of the things they had in common…

"Aerith-will-you-marry-me?"

…that was sudden. So sudden, in fact, that Cloud blinked to himself and wondered if he drank more wine than he originally thought.

The girl's eyes widened impossibly. Even though Cloud blurted it out quickly - with his words all strung together into one jumbled mass - , the message was _perfectly_ clear. She understood what he had said, but… she had to be sure. "…pardon?"

Cloud took a deep breath to steady himself and stood, procuring a small, black velvet box from his pocket. He got down on one knee in front of her and opened it.

There it was - the point of no return.

"Aerith… I love you. I… um… want to be with you… forever…" He swallowed hard to clear the tight, dry feeling from his throat. "…will you… um… be my wife?"

"Oh, Cloud…" she breathed, one hand over her rapidly beating heart. The small diamond ring sparkled innocently at her from its home in the box, blissfully unaware of the significance it held. Aerith nodded briskly, tears of joy pricking at her eyes, and smiled. "Oh, yes… yes, of course, _yes_!"

When the restaurant patrons within earshot started clapping, Cloud's eyes rolled into the back of his head.

He fainted.

Well… _that_ went _great_.

+~----------~+

With the sun shining and clear blue skies almost ten months out of the entire year, life on Destiny Islands was very close to a dream come true… even if it _was_ a major resort area.

Not that the inhabitants really minded all the tourists; at peak season, they generated revenue like crazy, selling them trinkets in the shape of the legendary Paopu fruit and necklaces made of Thalassa shells - most of which were actually made by their own children and sold to stores, albeit for half the price the owners sold them for. But, it gave the kids something to do for munny - other than chores, of course.

The weather was never too hot and never too cold, making it perfect beach weather all the time. The Islands had the most beautiful beaches with its clear, blue-green ocean and light, powder-soft sand, making it all the more appealing to visitors. Tall coconut trees added to the already gorgeous skyline, surrounded by shorter palms and lush greenery of all types.

Beachside cottages littered the shore, all clean and immaculate and painted in light colors, the structures only adding to the beauty of Destiny. While there were several garish motels around, most of the out-of-towners opted to rent the cottages around the streets for the sake of privacy. Some of them even had their own private sections of the beach. Those, of course, were snatched up first - for one hell of a hefty price - but it was worth it.

It was as if _everything_ added to the charm of the Islands, the scent of flowers mingling perfectly with the salty sea air as the sound of waves crashed into the shore, accented by the call of seagulls searching for a meal or music from the boardwalk; all of it creating the picture-perfect atmosphere for a relaxing, stress-free paradise.

…if only there weren't so many damn kids around.

Okay, maybe it wasn't the kids who were the problem… it was _Riku_, who just-so-happened to be _friends_ with every 13 to 15-year old in the neighborhood. Sephiroth didn't mind that his brother was popular around their section of the island, but he _did_ mind the fact that Riku insisted on bringing all of them home for lunch every day of summer.

He really hated playing the part of Riku's kitchen wench all the time.

"So, are they done yet?"

"For the tenth time, _no_," Sephiroth growled, slapping together what felt like sandwich number 87 of the day. Bologna here, peanut butter and jelly there, and always, _always_ with the tuna. He _hated_ tuna - it was a good day when he didn't splash himself while draining the can and end up smelling like fish the rest of the afternoon. "And if you would help, Riku, these would be finished _much_ sooner."

The teenager shrugged and slid off the black marble countertop, slapping Sephiroth good-naturedly on the arm. "I _would_, but they're _so_ much _better_ when _you_ make them, _Sephy_," he said, voice sickeningly sweet - and utterly fake.

"Don't call me that," the man warned, sorely tempted to fling a slice of turkey at one certain, smirking Riku - who _knew_ he was treading on thin ice, but teased him anyway. "Honestly… you're fifteen, you should be doing these things on your own at this age."

"…I know, I know…"

"Do you?" Sephiroth turned to face him, holding out a mayonnaise-smeared butter knife, "because I believe if you did, you would _help_."

Riku rolled his aquamarine eyes and reluctantly took the silver utensil as Sephiroth opened a nearby drawer to snag a new one. There weren't really too many more sandwiches to make, but Sephiroth almost always forced him to do it, regardless.

Not that he really minded… he only ended up making one sandwich half the time anyway.

"…where's Sora's?"

"Saved it for you, as usual," Sephiroth murmured, absently throwing together one last peanut butter and jelly. For some reason, both of Riku's girl friends preferred those over anything else. "And I only made _one_ for Wakka today."

But apparently Riku wasn't listening, intent on making 'the perfect sandwich' - or so Sora dubbed it - for his best friend. Sephiroth, personally, was disgusted by the thing - there was _far_ too much of _everything_ on it. For Sora's small size, he had one _healthy_ - or was it considered unhealthy? - appetite, eating more than even Sephiroth himself.

Sephiroth liked Sora, though… not that he really had a choice in the matter. He and Riku were practically attached at the hip since they were children. But Sora was a good kid… a little hyperactive sometimes, but he never caused trouble - Riku was usually the one to do that, being the more adventurous of the two.

Finished making food for their guests, Sephiroth leaned his back against the counter and folded his arms over his chest, watching his brother continue making an abomination between two slices of bread. "It's amazing he can stomach that…" The observation had been said before, but Sephiroth always felt the need to say it anyway.

Riku chuckled and blew his bangs from his eyes. "I know, isn't it? But he loves it like this, so…" he trailed off with a shrug.

Dropping one last slice of cheese on what had to be a pound of every kind of meat in their fridge, Riku made a sound of accomplishment and wiped his hands on his oversized pants. "Voila - the 'piece de resistance'," he announced, gesturing grandly at the monstrosity.

"Too much for me, I think."

"Yeah. It's gross just making it…" Riku paused, staring at the sandwich pensively before pointing out, "…it's got a lot of…," he snorted, rolling his hand on his wrist. "…_meat_."

Sephiroth grinned. "So it does."

He straightened and then stretched, pulling his long hair from the ponytail he kept it in while preparing meals… even though tying his hair back didn't stop Riku and his friends from yelping about finding 4-foot-something long strands of silver in their food - which they _didn't_.

Well… usually not. Yes, _he_ was careful, but the hair _itself_ was clever that way.

"Will you all be eating inside or outside today?"

Riku clicked his tongue, considering his options. "Probably outside. Last time I checked, Tidus and Wakka were in a pretty heated one-on-one, so you probably don't want them in the house."

Sephiroth nodded, grateful that Riku was so mindful of his - slightly annoying - affinity for cleanliness. Besides, sand got into _everything_, and he hated to bring out the broom so soon after he last swept. Plus, he knew Riku wouldn't clean up after the two Blitzballers without a fight , so the teen was really only suggesting it for his own good anyway. "Fair enough. On the porch or patio?"

"Mm… porch."

"Side or back?"

"Back."

Sephiroth nodded, opening a cabinet door and taking out a large serving platter in one smooth move. As he piled the lunches onto it, he wondered if he should start charging for all the food the kids have eaten so far over their break.

"Tell Wakka 'no balls on the table', and I _mean_ it this time," Sephiroth said firmly, dropping the last sandwich onto the plate.

"…that's not what you said to _Leon_ the last time _he_ was here," Riku smirked, putting the used condiments away. Sephiroth stiffened.

Always, _always_, Riku had to bring up Leon. Sephiroth didn't know if the boy was masochistic or _what_.

"Have you been _spying_ on me?" he asked, the pitch of his voice rising into the danger zone. "Because if you have, I will—"

"Gods, Seph, it was a _joke_," the teen muttered, "lighten up."

He was answered with a monosyllabic grunt.

When Riku was done setting things back in their rightful place, he goggled and froze, one hand hovering over the handle of the fridge. "…wait…" The boy turned slowly, one eyebrow raised, and stared at Sephiroth's back. "…does that mean you guys've had sex on the table?" He blinked at the prolonged silence which followed. "…_please_ tell me I heard you wrong… I've eaten on that table recently…"

Sephiroth was fighting to hold back a smirk. The good thing about Riku bringing up Leon was Sephiroth getting his revenge - mainly, by grossing the boy out. So, the boy would be a little scarred mentally. It built character.

"Well …it rained in the past week, hasn't it?" he deadpanned, shrugging nonchalantly.

Riku blinked again.

"Though I suppose if you're worried, you could always hose it down to be safe."

The teenager grimaced.

"It _should_ be alright, after all Leon insists that we use—"

"Agh!" Riku threw his hands in the air and grabbed the lunch platter, "I was _only joking _and here you are, going on about your sex life! I _don't_ need to _know_ these things!"

Sephiroth smirked, resting his elbows on the counter island to watch his brother walk away as fast as he could without dropping everyone's lunches on the floor. "If you'd like, I can get you a dishrag…"

"Ugh, just shut up!"

"A tablecloth?"

"Stop!!" Riku stalked out of the house, slamming the sliding glass door behind him.

Sephiroth smirked again, pushing his hair back over his shoulder, and sighed. Brothers were so fun to tease sometimes. Sephiroth could _definitely_ see why Riku liked to push his buttons once in a while. And while Sephiroth himself didn't bother Riku too often - to the teen's thanks - he really got a kick when he was truly in the mood to play around.

Though he loved Riku, sometimes Sephiroth regretted the fact that he was the one who had to take care of him. Riku's mother - Sephiroth's stepmother - died several years before then, when the boy was four; their father left the Riku in Sephiroth's charge when he turned 18, so he could go off to continue his studies in a research facility halfway across the world… and children weren't allowed on the immediate premises.

But Sephiroth was responsible at that age, somehow managing to care for a 6-year old as well as himself on Destiny Islands. Their father left them both extremely well off also, being a major success in his particular field of study - what that was, of course, was supposedly 'top secret' - and paid what should be an illegal sum of munny every month for child support…

Sephiroth never had - and would never have - to work a day in his _life_.

Being Riku's legal guardian had thrown him a few bumps in the road, however. He never had the chance to go to college, which he would have _liked_ to, but they had no other family members who could have taken Riku in; Sephiroth's stepsister took up residence in Traverse Town's all-female school - Ansem was very strict about keeping his children, both by birth and by marriage, in only the highest-rated, gender-segregated private facilities, and Destiny Islands' school for girls didn't measure up - and there was no way in _hell_ Sephiroth was going to allow Riku to be put in foster care when he didn't have to be.

Taking care of Riku never really put a dent in Sephiroth's social life, surprisingly. Some people looked down on him, thinking he was the father of a young boy when he was so young himself, but then again, he didn't care. The opinions of others didn't really matter to him; besides, most of the residents of Destiny Islands knew who he was, anyway. Who cared if a few tourists thought wrongly about him?

After cleaning up the rest of the kitchen, Sephiroth checked on the gaggle of teenagers eating on the beach. Riku and Kairi flanked Sora's sides, both of them tickling the boy mercilessly as his other friends laughed, looking on.

…kids would be kids.

+~----------~+

__

A/N: Short prologue. *sighs*

I'm not sure how long this story will be, nor where I'm exactly going with it… and yes, I should be working on my unfinished fics, but this needed to be started. The idea's been floating around my head for a while now, and I can never resist writing something with Seph x Cloud *coughsexcough*. They demand it! And a sexually confused Cloud is my favorite kind of Cloud…

And new fics always help ease away writer's block when ficlets just aren't working out… mmyep. I can't seem to latch onto the concept of a short fic. It's hard for me ;_;

Yes, Sephiroth is dating Leon. FOR NOW. Dun dun DUN! Will there be a lime-y scene with them? …maybe. There also may be lime with Cloud and Aerith… but as for lemon? Seph and Cloud, yes. YES. And possibly one with Riku and Sora. We'll see. I must do plot and character development first. (*and a collective sigh is heard around FF.net*)


	2. Chapter One

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Disclaimer: Sure, I own Kingdom Hearts. Final Fantasy, too. I am a huge success. Ha. (AGH don't sue me, Squeenix, it was a joke!)  
**Rating**: R; Shounen-ai (for now) & ::gasp:: _het_, language, future situations, AU, probable OOC-ness.  
**Main Pairings**: Sephiroth x Cloud, Aerith x Cloud (triangle); eventual Riku x Sora  
**Minor Pairings**: Seph x Leon (…okay, this one won't be so minor), Selphie x Tidus; Kairi/Sora (implications _only_ with them, most likely, if at all)  
**Notes**: …this took entirely too long to write.

::sends Cid over to give Sephiroth's Gaydar a badly needed tune-up:: Get that thing checked every 3000 guys, Seph, it's not good to let it run longer than that without one O.o;

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**Chapter One**  
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"Hey, ya know what would be fun?"

Five loud, equally unenthusiastic groans resounded from around the picnic table.

"Aww, c'mon you guys, my ideas aren't _that_ bad!"

"It's not that they're _bad_," Riku started, "it's just that they make us want to…"

"Puke?" The blonde boy winced as Selphie promptly smacked him in the back of the head. "Man, it was just a _joke_…"

"_Not_ funny, Tidus," Selphie muttered, her arm returning to its perch around her boyfriend's shoulders. "All you guys judge me _way_ too quickly…"

Sora grinned widely, his arms wrapped around his still-aching stomach, sore from the unexpected - and freakin' _long_ - tickle-fest his two best friends attacked him with, and laughed. "Because you _always_ want to do something 'romantic' or just… _boring_," he teased.

"Better than you, you lazy bum," came Kairi's reply, bumping the brown-haired teen with her elbow, "at least Selphie actually does something other than _sleep_ all day…" Sora just smiled.

"'sides, Selphie, me an' Tidus gotta finish our _game_ still, ya?"

The youngest girl scoffed. "You guys've been playing for _hours_, Wakka! It's getting _so_ _boring_…"

"Boring?!" Tidus nearly yelped, "but… but the game's _so close_!"

The green-eyed girl gave him an 'I don't give a damn' look which put all its imitators to shame.

"We've gone into overtime _three_ _times_ already! That's anything _but_ boring… over _triple _overtime, Selphie! That… that's like…" The exuberant blonde teen trailed off, searching for just the right word.

"…a record?" Kairi supplied, still greatly amused by how… overly enthusiastic Tidus got over Blitzball, even after the _many_ years he'd been playing it. Tidus' father introduced him to the game at a relatively young age and had since then - rather, since he got over that annoying matter of his crippling fear of drowning - the blonde spent a great deal of his free time practicing to further develop his skill.

…when Selphie let him.

Tidus was even on the Blitzball team in school, and dedicated more time to the game than his homework… which _usually_ got him into trouble with his teachers, leading to drawn-out arguments with his dad, but Jecht had _always_ encouraged - no, not encouraged, _pushed_ - Tidus to do well in the sport.

But Wakka, to Tidus' envy, was raised on it from the day he could walk… and that inhuman skill and undying love for Blitzball actually borne into him by not one, but _both_ parents… who just-so-happened to be the top freelance players of their respective genders on Destiny Islands.

And Wakka's brother Chappu, too, played the game, actually captain of the high school's unbeatable, championship team…

…gods, they were a whole _family_ of freakin' Blitzball show-offs. How fair was _that_?!

Needless to say, the blonde teen was pretty damn eager to beat his friend in the game Wakka naturally excelled at, and that day, with their scores dead even… if Tidus tried just a bit harder than usual, it actually seemed likely to happen.

Nearly knocking over the table - and succeeding in knocking over Selphie, who landed flat on her yellow-clothed bum with a loud, ear-piercing cry - Tidus shot to his feet and pointed at the purple-eyed girl. "Yeah, that's it! Me an' Wakka _never_ had more than _one_ in a single game until _now_!"

"'s true… usually we' never _dis_ close," the tanned one piped up, expertly spinning the blue and white ball on a fingertip, "must be offa my game today, ya?"

"You _wish_," Tidus exclaimed, pulling one very angered Selphie to her feet, "you're afraid to admit that I'm gettin' _better_ than you."

"In ya' _dreams_, Tidus."

"You wanna go, then?!" the blonde balked, shaking a fist. He was going to beat Wakka, dammit.

"Prepare ta lose, _lil_ boy!"

Selphie sighed heavily and slumped back in her seat, brushing sand off her bright sundress. "Stupid boys and their stupid _sports_," she muttered, watching Tidus and Wakka dash to the ocean in a head-to-head race, both of them taking a deep breath before submerging themselves in the clear, blue-green water.

She hoped Wakka beat Tidus. Badly.

After a moment of silence, Selphie turned around slowly and grinned, in a better mood, her green eyes sparkling with a hint of excitement. "So _anyway_, like I was sayin'—"

Sora un-wedged himself from between Riku and Kairi to hop rather gracelessly onto the table. In one smooth move he launched himself over to the youngest girl's side, whipped his arm around her head, clamped his hand over her jabbering little mouth, and smiled in victory as the two teens opposite him promptly applauded his achievement.

"Wow, Sora… that…," Riku started, eyes wide, awed by Sora's sudden yet welcome act, "was _impressive_… wasn't it, Kairi?"

The redhead giggled, but at the same time felt somewhat sorry for Selphie as she struggled against Sora's deceptively strong hold. "I don't think I've ever seen you move like that before," she commented, a broad smile on her face. Kairi turned to the silver-haired boy and added, "remind me never to act like Selph over there, 'kay? Who knows what Sora will do next…"

"Hey, it's not that I have a problem with the way she _acts_," Sora piped up, "it's just that I can't deal with all her lovey-dovey junk anymore…"

Kairi grinned. "What, if she laid off ideas she pulled from romance novels then you wouldn't have a problem with her?"

"Exactly."

Behind the boy's hand, Selphie gave a disappointed mewl.

"So you're not a romantic, Sora?" Riku grinned a little, raising his eyebrow in mock-surprise. "I, for one, am _shocked_. How will you _ever_ woo that pretty little thing you'll one day set your sights on?"

"Maybe that 'pretty little thing' wouldn't _need_ to be wooed," Sora retorted, finally letting the girl in his arms free. He winked at Riku as he pushed a messy brown spike away from his forehead and proclaimed, wearing his trademark grin, "I know my _natural_ charm'll work better anyway."

Selphie huffed, smoothing her flipped-up hair with both hands. "Not if you act like _that_, you big dork… geez, you got crumbs all over me!" The yellow-clad girl pushed an upturned plate from her lap, thoroughly disgusted, and carefully swiped away the small pieces of bread from her dress.

"Iiick, is that _bologna_?" she half-asked, half-whined, straight towards Sora, "whose plate did you drop on me?!"

Turning their attention away from Selphie, the three oldest teens simultaneously took on bored-looking positions at their respective places at the table.

Their entire day had been lazy, and they had made absolutely no progress at all. Both Sora and Riku were supposed to be gathering the last of the supplies they needed to finish the raft they had - days before - come up with, but neither one of them could _quite_ find the motivation.

True, they really didn't need the raft, considering all of them already had their own boats - well, in Riku's case, _two_ of them; one a shoddy, wooden, old-fashioned thing with a slow leak, and the other a brand new, streamlined machine with a powerful, wave-hopping motor - but the idea of constructing something they could actually use together was… exciting.

Unfortunately, so far they only had several of the pieces they needed, and almost _all_ of the materials they currently lacked were due to Sora and his perpetual-but-mutually-accepted laziness. Kairi and Riku never truly minded their friend's less than stellar level of activity, considering both of them _knew_ how 'bum-ish', as the girl termed it, Sora could get. Hell, if it was up to Riku, he would just do all the work _himself_…

…but, somehow, Kairi had quickly snatched up the role of 'Captain' of the entire raft-building operation, thereby demanding - as gently as she could - that Sora do his part all on his own, acceptance of his laziness irregardless.

Of course, Kairi was well aware that Sora wasn't exactly one to follow orders, either. She could hope, though, couldn't she?

"Sora, are you gonna get the rest of your stuff today?"

The boy in question stretched his arms straight over his head and yawned indulgently, blinking his deep blue eyes in the most otiose - a word Sephiroth used all the time when describing the young brunette, which was really the only reason why they all knew what it meant - look he could muster.

"I dunno… I just ate lunch… I may have to lay out on Paopu Island for a bit before I can do anything else…"

Riku had to give a little laugh, not at all surprised that Sora reacted that way. After all, one of his sandwiches never failed to lull the other boy into a near-comatose state, successfully putting him out of commission for at least an hour afterwards.

"Well, how about you and me do it together?" the older teen suggested casually, "I already gave all my stuff to Kairi, anyway, so it's not like I have anything better to do."

Sora blinked, jaw dropping in awe. "…_all_ of it?!"

The red-headed girl giggled, voice taking on a playfully scolding tone. "Riku isn't the snail of the Islands, Sora."

He stuck his tongue out at her in reply.

"So how 'bout it?" Riku spoke up, bringing their attention back to him. "The work'll be finished sooner if we do."

"I guess we should," Sora replied with a shrug, "you'd be able to hold more logs than me anyway."

"_Me_? Because I offered to help, you expect me to do all the hard work?" The oldest boy scoffed, crossing his arms in mock-offense. "What do you think I _am_, Sora, your pack-Chocobo?"

Sora nodded, giving his friend the cheesiest grin he dared. "You know it."

Riku rolled his eyes, chuckling as he did so.

"Wait a sec… did you guys say _logs_?" Selphie turned her attention towards the threesome again, dress clean of sandwich remnants and head cleared of daydreams, fingering the end of her jump rope thoughtfully. "What d'you need _logs_ for?"

"Earth to Selphie… you don't remember? The three of us are building a raft," Kairi answered, gesturing to herself and the boys. "We need some excitement around here, y'know?"

The shorter girl giggled impishly. "If all ya want is excitement, you should just get yourself a _boyfriend_, Kai. They're _real_ fun…" She paused and pressed a finger up to her lips, smiling. "You know, Tidus an' I are gonna share a Paopu when we're older. He promised."

Riku raised his eyebrow, sat back in his seat, and smirked. "Is that so?"

"Yep, soon as we're both 15," the green-eyed girl said wistfully, "and it'll be so great… we'll have a little picnic on Paopu Island, we'll have some candles lit… and I'll make him a nice, big lunch to show him how much I care for him…"

Thankfully, the other two were too busy listening to Selphie's daydream to notice the very slight blush which crept to Riku's cheeks…

"Then he'll climb up the tree and pick the perfect fruit," Selphie continued, very nearly sparkling with stars and hearts forming in her eyes, "and we'll eat it together, and when we're done, we'll kiss… and it'll be perfect. Nice, and romantic, and perfect."

All four of them sat in silence for a little while, mulling over the vivid picture the youngest one had painted for them. None of them wanted to admit, but it _did_ sound romantic… even if the thought of Selphie and Tidus kissing on what could be considered _Riku's_ island was a bit frightening.

"…you have _way_ too much time on your hands," Sora perked up, breaking the others from their reverie. Selphie pouted.

"What, you're never gonna share a Paopu?"

The spiky-haired teen shrugged halfheartedly. "I dunno. I might, one day."

"Oh? With who?" Kairi questioned, her amethyst eyes gleaming just a little more than usual. The silver-haired boy frowned a little, watching the girl next to him. He wisely kept his mouth shut, even though Sora's proclamation had, admittedly, captured his interest as well… "Have anyone in mind?"

Sora wiped a little bead of sweat from his forehead and smiled. "Uh, I dunno _who_… exactly… it was more like an assumption… kinda thing… well, what about _you_, Kairi?" he asked in a very obvious, desperate plea to take the heat off of himself. The way his two best friends were looking at him made him feel… _strange_.

Like he was a prospective mark or something.

The redhead looked pensive as she drew her eyebrows together, lips puckered in thought. A moment later she reddened, covering her face with one tiny hand. "Oh… don't ask me that, it's too embarrassing!"

"_I_ know who," Selphie chimed in, her intoned voice cheeky and secretive, "but _I'm_ not gonna te-ell…"

Though it was rather obvious exactly _who_ Selphie was talking about, Kairi reached across the table and lightly smacked her giggling friend. Riku didn't fail to notice her eyes slyly focusing on Sora as she sat back down in her seat, hiding her smile behind her hand once more. "Quiet, Selph…"

When Selphie calmed down, she set her sights on a rather sullen Riku. "How about you, 'ku? You wanna share one with anybody?"

He shrugged. "Maybe."

"Really, Riku?" Kairi tilted her head questioningly, startled by the normally private one's admission. "With someone we know?"

"Did I _say_ I had someone in mind _right this second_?"

The three younger teenagers blinked simultaneously at Riku's sudden, snapped response.

Frowning under those questioning stares, the silver-haired one pursed his lips and shrugged, turning away from their scrutinizing eyes.

"…it was a _theoretical_ question," Riku muttered, feeling the need to clarify, "so that's how I answered: theoretically. That _doesn't mean_ that right _now_ I'm…"

Without finishing, the oldest teen shook his silver head and stood, collecting plates and other such garbage strewn about the area, loathing the pressure the question placed upon him. The last thing he wanted to do was be coerced into spilling his one big secret, and with the way Selphie never let things go, pushing and pushing… and _Kairi_, who…

"You know what? Forget about it."

Really, he hadn't meant to answer truthfully. Actually, his brain was screaming at him to say 'no', if only to avoid a situation such as that. His answer didn't mean _anything_, dammit… he didn't have _those sorts of feelings_ towards _anyone_. He didn't have a crush… a stupid, _stupid_ crush where he was just going to get rejected and mocked if he even considered doing anything about it… he didn't go weak in the knees, turning him into a vapid, lovesick little girl even worse off than _Selphie_ the more he thought about it…

But unfortunately, mouth reacted quicker than brain, and now they all knew that Riku was just as human as the rest of them. So really, all he could do now was simply avoid any potential questions that may come from his momentary loss of will - _especially_ questions from the one he had that crush _on_…

"Riku…?"

…ugh.

"No, it's nothing… forget it," he murmured, turning away from the picnic table. Riku hastily made his way back to the entrance of his house and stopped, his free hand hovering just above the door's handle. "You guys go home after they finish their game, alright? I forgot that Seph needs me to do some stuff around here, so I can't help with the raft after all."

Sora pouted noticeably, lower lip jutting out, eyebrows drawn together in an adorable way. "Riku, are you really alright…?"

"Yeah… don't worry, Sora… I'm just… fine."

He stepped inside after giving his friends a short wave and shut the door behind him, muttering to himself, "'just fine'… yeah _right_, Riku… you're _far_ from '_fine_'."

----------

Sora pouted as he watched the older boy walk away, surprised at the suddenness of it all. Riku's disappearing act was getting real old, _real_ fast. The silver-haired one had been making hasty retreats like that _a lot_ lately, and especially when it came to Selphie's oh-so-favorite subject: _relationships_.

He could sort of figure out why, though… Riku never really was the type to sit around and talk about things like cute girls and dating and all of that, and Sora always just came to the conclusion that Riku was easily embarrassed by those sorts of things, since the older boy didn't show a whole lot of interest in _anything_, really, with the exception of sword fighting, and exploring, and… well, _boy_ things… so…

While Riku may not have wanted to talk about that stuff, Sora sure did. In a way he had a weird sense of pride to know that - in _his_ head - he was maturing faster than his best friend-slash-longtime rival, at least in that respect. He was noticing girls like _crazy_, too, it felt like… but whenever he mentioned anything like that to Riku, the older boy just teased him, playfully, instead of having a serious one-to-one - no, _man_-to-_man_ - conversation about it as Sora would've liked to…

But Riku…

…hm.

Recently, instead of going on with teasing like he normally did, Riku started to actually get _upset_ whenever the topic happened to come up, but even _more_ so when the focus switched over to the silver-haired boy himself - and, to make matters worse, Riku grew even more aggravated when talking in mixed company. Sora wondered why _that_ was, though had a sneaking suspicion…

The spiky-headed teenager cast Kairi a sidelong glance, noting the girl's slight frown upon Riku's absence. He couldn't help but guess that _she_ was the reason behind the oldest one's behavior… maybe Kairi was sending Riku some sort of 'I like you' vibes that Sora couldn't pick up…? Like that bug stuff… homophones? …catacombs? No, was it pheromones? Whatever, he never really paid attention in science class…

"Well, since Riku's gone, Sora… you wanna gather your stuff with me instead?"

…nah… he was jumping to conclusions.

It definitely wasn't _that_ - on Kairi's part, anyway. Sora wasn't so sure how it went on Riku's end, though he supposed it was _possible_…

It made sense, kind of, if he thought about it the right way. If Riku liked their purple-eyed friend, that would explain why he never talked to Sora about her, since the brown-haired teen had expressed just a little bit of interest in her before… but really, who could blame him? Kairi was…

…_cute_.

But really, it wasn't like Kairi was the only girl on their part of the Destiny Islands. Selphie was already taken, but there was that one girl, the one he remembered Aerith babysitting all the time when home for summer break - Yuffie. True, she was a little older than Riku, but she didn't _act_ like it…

"Nah… we can save that for tomorrow or something… I should probably see what's goin' on with Riku," the brunette replied, pushing himself away from the table.

"Good idea," Selphie said, nodding her approval. Even her _eyes_ were saying 'GO, SORA, GO!!'

Kairi herself was a bit disappointed, but agreed as well. She noticed Riku's strange behavior lately, too, and it bothered her as well… but she wouldn't dare ask the silver-haired teen about it, figuring she'd probably be one of the _last_ people he'd want to talk his problems over with… they were pretty good friends, yes, but she and Riku weren't nearly as close to each other as he was with Sora.

"So, guess I'll see you guys later, then!" Sora grinned widely at the two girls and waved. "Oh, and Selph… sorry, y'know, 'bout the crumbs…"

"Yeah, yeah, get outta here already, geez…"

As soon as Sora was inside Riku's house, the perky brunette turned to Kairi, green eyes wide open and sparkling - which could only mean one thing…

"I _don't_ wanna gossip, Selphie."

"Aww!"

The redhead giggled, but remained firm. "No. You know I don't like talking about Riku…" Kairi's lips puckered as she drew her eyebrows together, turning deadly serious. "I don't get the feeling he's like that, anyway… don't see why you keep on saying it…"

Selphie harrumphed. "Well, his _brother_ is, and the two of them are _exactly alike_, Kai…"

The older girl blinked. "I… don't think that's a _gene_ thing…"

"Well, whatever… I'm just sayin'—"

"Look," Kairi interrupted, raising a hand, silently telling the other girl to stop even before she started, "I said no more, okay? And even if he _was_, would that _matter_?" When the little brunette didn't answer, Kairi softened and let out a small sigh. "Selphie… Riku's a good friend of mine, and I don't want you starting rumors about him…"

"…I…" The green-eyed girl shook her head and shrugged. "Alright, fine. I don't think they're just _rumors_, but if you say so…" Selphie stood up on the bench she had been sitting on and raising her chin, resolutely stating, "but I'll have you know, I am, as of right now, reserving the right to gloat if I turn out to be right."

Kairi groaned as she lurched forward to bury her face in her folded arms. She was _never_ going to win such a useless, futile battle… "Fine, _fine_… just knock it off for now, okay?"

"Okay!" the younger girl chirped, hopping down to the ground. "So… you wanna go shopping?"

The redhead nodded before getting slowly to her feet, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear, not the least bit surprised about the off-topic, sudden suggestion… that _was_ Selphie, irrelevance at its finest. "Sure… what _else_ is there to do around here?"

Not a minute after the two girls were out of sight, Selphie chattering away about something or another as they made their way to the boardwalk, Tidus burst out from the water. A victorious smile was plastered on his face, the boy pumping his fists triumphantly without even bothering to take a breath and recover for the long minutes of oxygen depravation, and started to shout.

"I _WON_!!!"

Wakka emerged bare moments after him, in a considerably less cheerful mood. The islander did _not_ take losing kindly - not even to his _mother_.

"Hey you guys, can you believe it?! I'm the BEST! I _FINALLY_ BEAT WAK…ka…" The blonde teenager scanned the small expanse of pale-sanded beach in front of Riku's home, only to see…

…absolutely no one. At all.

"_Hey_, where'd everyone _GO_…?!"

Not a _single_ freakin' _one_ of them.

"Aw, _man_…!"

He turned around upon hearing Wakka's loud bout of snickering and glared, arms crossed. He was well aware that now, there wasn't a chance in hell that any of his friends were going to trust his word on _this_ one…

"I _did_ win this time, _Wakka_, and you know it," the younger teen grumbled, the thrill - and the whole _point_ - of his victory thoroughly burnt out upon such a terrible discovery.

"Yeah, but ya got no witnesses, _Tidus_, and _I_ ain't backin' y' up."

Tidus frowned.

The orange-haired teenager's grin broadened, knowing exactly, as the saying went, what the score was: no witnesses, no evidence, therefore, _no_ solid case for Tidus.

__

Dammit.

"No fair…"

"Next time try an' do it _before_ they get bored wit' the match, ya?" Wakka teased condescendingly, giving the shorter boy a hard, purposely goading pat on the back, "if y' can ever _get_ another win after dis…"

And with that - well, after laughing _just_ a bit more - Wakka walked off, his head pillowed on the Blitzball, an absolutely sullen Tidus left in his wake.

"I _did_ beat you…" Tidus crossed his arms and muttered to himself, "not like Dad's ever gonna _believe_ me…" The boy flopped backwards, landing gracelessly into the water, and sighed, huffily.

"Man… this _sucks_…"

----------

Sephiroth was in the shower when he heard his brother slam the door to his bedroom closed, apparently upset at something or another. Not that the fact that the teenager was bothered was quite out of the ordinary, being the moody teenager Riku was…

…honestly, sometimes he acted absolutely manic. Sephiroth even sometimes contemplated _medicating_ the boy…

Naturally, Sephiroth wondered just what was wrong with the silver-haired teenager _this_ time, easily falling into his appointed 'big brother' role. But after a short deliberation - whilst washing section number eight of his hair no less -, Sephiroth decided that it would be better to just leave the boy be, despite his own more irritable senses.

What he _really_ wanted to do was hop out of the shower right that second to pay Riku a visit, _demanding_ to know what the hell the huffy door-slamming attitude was all about. Riku _knew_ the older one hated such ruckus, and for him to be so apathetic towards Sephiroth's inevitable cranky wrath and making so much noise _anyway_…

But, since Riku never was one to obey him in the first place, it was possible that the teenager just wanted to be obnoxious, considering the earlier teasing Sephiroth had subjected him to. Talk of sex, no matter _how_ much in jest, never failed to reduce Riku to an embarrassed, irritable, red-faced child.

Sephiroth supposed it was because he never quite got to that point of discussing the 'birds and the bees' with his younger brother, and truthfully, he didn't know if ever _would_, all things considered. He wasn't _stupid_, he obviously knew the _mechanics_ of the act… just that this particular bee just didn't exactly have the inclination to buzz with birds in quite _that_ way, so what was the use trying to explain what he didn't care to know firsthand? If he tried, Sephiroth knew he would probably end up scaring the boy or something terrible like that…

…and he would most likely have to resort to simply buying girlie magazines or skin-flicks and allowing Riku the chance to lock himself in his room for awhile to pore over them as Sephiroth took a much-needed trip over to Leon's place for some 'assistance' in getting over the fact that he actually bought heterosexual pornography for a _minor_…

Now… if Riku wanted to learn about the _bees_ and the bees, that was a different story altogether.

Although, Sephiroth couldn't promise _that_ sort of explanation would be any less scarring, either. In fact, it would probably give the hypersensitive teenager nightmares to know just what it was his older brother did behind closed doors.

…and not that Riku was _like_ that.

But at this juncture, Sephiroth figured, finally finished with the long process of washing his hair, meddling in Riku's business would most likely serve to upset the boy further. And whatever the dilemma was, he would get over it in no time at all, anyway. Teen drama was rarely ever _that_ significant.

Sephiroth grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist upon stepping out of the shower, eager to get out of the thick, moist air in the bathroom. Even though the windows of the room were wide open, the silver-haired man had a bad habit of showering with the water so scalding hot that steam just never had the chance to dissipate. …which wasn't good at all. Those facts combined, Leon absolutely refused to shower with him.

Ever.

No matter how much Sephiroth coaxed.

Because Leon was a big whiny baby when it came to certain things.

But Sephiroth liked his water _hot_, dammit, he wasn't about to—

"Hey, Seph, you know where Riku is…?"

Sephiroth paused his musings to frown down at the brown-haired teenager, arms crossing themselves automatically over his bare chest. He didn't consciously mean for it to be an intimidating stance, it just sort of happened that way…

…yet, even if he did want it to be, how intimidating could Sephiroth have honestly expected to be while dripping wet and naked with nothing but a plain white _towel_ tucked around his waist?

"I believe he's in his room."

Sora made a face and gestured down the hallway. "The door's locked, and he didn't answer me when I tried knocking…"

The older one raised an eyebrow. It was a very rare day for Riku to both slam the door to his room and proceed to lock himself _inside_… "Well let's see, shall we?"

Sephiroth led the short brunette to Riku's room, trying not to let the heavy, wet hair stuck on his back bother him. Long hair was so irksome…

…moving on.

The silver-haired man rapped on Riku's bedroom door, unnerved by the fact that inside the room was dead silent. Usually, in a case like this - where the teenager didn't want to be bothered, that was - Riku had heavy music blasting, practiced on his guitar, or did some other sort of loud activity… but instead, this time… nothing.

And after his knock received no answer, Sephiroth tried again, harder this time, as Sora wore a confused expression, giving Sephiroth a skeptical, wary look.

"Trust, he went in here," the older man asserted, quite bothered by the fact that Sora seemed to watch him warily, as if he were both senile and insane. "…don't give me that look, Sora, I _heard_ him come in. He slammed the _door_," Sephiroth muttered, arms crossing with the intent of intimidation this time. He never _was_ one to take quiet judgment lightly.

The boy blinked. Sephiroth towered a good couple feet over him, caught in a near glare, and was… acting like a big, overgrown Riku. And at that moment, Sora could totally see - plain as day this time, even though it was quite obvious before, but this truly cemented it - just who his friend got that attitude from.

…the resemblance was frightening.

"…okay…?" Sora's voice lifted at the end, very much using the tone to assure the silver-haired man that he didn't think Sephiroth was crazy, even though he really did… sometimes. The man had some of the oddest breaking points, and no one ever knew what would trigger an outburst.

…just like Riku.

Seriously, the both of them were like pretty silver grenades with the pins pulled over half the time.

Another knock on the door, and Sephiroth sighed, growing increasingly frustrated. That silence was bothering him terribly, and so was Sora's rapidly decreasing confidence in his sanity.

"Riku, are you in there?"

Though he knew damn well that the boy was, Sephiroth said it for courtesy's sake. If Riku would just _answer_ him, that would ultimately save him the trouble of breaking down the door, an action which would likely set off a chain reaction of bad events and moods for the remainder of his otherwise semi-decent day. And since he was planning on paying Leon a visit for a while… well, that just wouldn't do, seeing as the other man was usually even more irate than Sephiroth himself was.

…except when Leon was in a bad mood, he enjoyed it. Sephiroth was always up for the challenge of loosening the other man up, even if by doing so he - more often than not - succeeded in agitating Leon further before things got any better.

Not that Sephiroth minded: Leon's most sour moods were what gave him the _greatest_ results… plus, a short time afterwards, Leon would snap out of it and return to his less-cold-but-still-not-quite-friendly self that Sephiroth loved oh-so-much _anyway_, so the brunette's temporary lack of civility was perfectly fine with him.

But that also meant that yes, in some ways, Sephiroth was a sadist… and, consequently, a bit of a masochist as well.

Big deal. He'd been accused of worse.

"Riku?" Sora chimed in, pouting a little. He gave his own typical knock on the door, some sort of secret code between friends, Sephiroth assumed.

"…_what_?" came the exasperated reply, deeply muffled and quieted by the white door.

Sephiroth frowned; figures Riku would've answered Sora and not him…

"Uh… can I come in?"

The following pause was long, and after a few moments, the small brunette began to squirm uncomfortably as he waited for an answer. Sora couldn't explain it, but for some reason he had the feeling that Riku was going to refuse…

Inside, Sephiroth heard a shifting noise, and his brother sighed heavily. "Hold on…"

"What happened?" Sephiroth asked quietly, raising an eyebrow at a seemingly relieved Sora. The teenager shrugged.

"I dunno… we were all talking, and—"

Riku pulled the door open then, face red, both silver eyebrows drawn together. Frankly, the boy looked extremely distraught as well as angry, and Sephiroth couldn't imagine why for the life of him. Upon closer inspection, he saw Riku's thick lashes were clumped together, and a small bit of moisture just beneath his bright-colored eyes…

"…Riku, were you—?"

"NO." The reply was short, and accompanied by a glare. Sephiroth held his hands up, palms out, in concession, opting to _not_ piss Riku off more than he somehow already had. "What do you want?" the teenager demanded, placing a fist on his hip malevolently.

"To see what's wrong," Sora answered, even though the older teenager's question was directed straight towards Sephiroth, and _only_ Sephiroth. "You've been acting really weird…"

Sephiroth glanced questioningly at the spiky-haired brunette, then back at Riku. His little brother had been acting 'weird' by _Sora's_ standards…? That was new information to him…

…and it appeared to be an observation that the older teenager didn't want him to know, either, judging by the hot look he shot Sephiroth as the man's attention turned to him again.

Well… he knew when he wasn't wanted.

Sephiroth cleared his throat, causing Sora to look up at him as well, and stated, "I'll let you be alone, then."

"Good." Riku gestured the younger boy into his room, gave Sephiroth yet _another_ glare, and quickly shut the door in the man's face.

Blowing the glittery hair from his eyes in exasperation, Sephiroth stared at the blockade for a moment, pondering the merits of eavesdropping to get a better idea of what made Riku so pissy all of a sudden. Quickly he pushed the thought from his mind; it wasn't right to spy, no matter how tempting it may have been. Deciding that just asking the boy later, Sephiroth made his way to his own bedroom to _finally_ get out of the stupid towel and into some decent clothing.

One pair of hip-hugging leather pants, dry hair, a gauzy, thigh-length white shirt with all but two buttons opened, and two black, thick-soled boots later, Sephiroth was back in front of Riku's door. He listened for a moment to hear Sora laughing inside and immediately took that as a good sign. If the spiky-haired one wasn't worried anymore, then he didn't have to be concerned, either… but he _was_ planning on talking to Riku.

Later.

He knocked softly on the door with one knuckle only. "Riku?"

"Yeah, Seph?" Riku sounded a great deal better than he had earlier, most likely not wishing death upon his wicked older brother any longer.

"I'm going to Leon's," Sephiroth started, resting the side of his head and one shoulder against the door as he spoke, "I'll be back in a few hours, with dinner."

"Alright."

Even though he already knew what the answer would be, the silver-haired man asked, "would you like to stay over, Sora?"

"I gotta call my mom and ask, but okay," the young brunette replied, still giggling over… _something_.

Hmph. _Boys_.

"Is pizza fine?" When the answer came back positive, Sephiroth shook his head. How predictable. "I'll be off then… _behave_," the older man warned, wanting to smack himself for sounding so much like…

…well, like a parent. The fact still managed to disturbed him as much as it did the first time.

Inside the room, Sephiroth could practically feel his brother rolling his eyes. "We will… gods, Seph, we're teenagers…"

"That's exactly the problem." His voice may have been stern, but he smiled as he said them.

"…I thought you were _leaving_?"

"Hmm… maybe I'll stay home because of that," the oldest one announced, smirking. "After all, why do I need Leon when I have _you_ for company, my darling little Riku?" Sephiroth asked, saccharine as he could manage.

"Will you just _go away_?"

"Why, what are you doing in there, something _bad_?"

"I'm not doing _anything_…"

Sephiroth sighed. Such a teenage answer…

"…I thought you had stuff to do, Riku?" Sora asked, quietly.

There was a long pause, which Sephiroth guessed Riku was using to formulate an answer for whatever lie he came up with.

Sephiroth sighed when an answer didn't come. If Riku no longer served as amusement, he supposed he should be heading off. "Alright, you're boring me now. And I really am leaving this time…"

"Bye, Seph!"

The silver-haired man chuckled quietly to himself and pushed away from the door. "Goodbye, Sora. Tell your mother 'hello' for me, would you?"

"Okay."

"And Riku, remember: _behave_."

"…but I'm not _doing_ anything!!" Riku's voice grew more and more fed up as time wore on, and Sephiroth himself grew increasingly amused by it.

"Just in case," Sephiroth finished, smiling softly at nothing in particular as he left the two brats to their own devices.

Walking down the stairs and into the bright, coastal outdoors, the silver-haired man pushed a pair of solid black sunglasses high onto the bridge of his nose, taking in a few deep breaths of sweet island air as he did so. After a short look around, Sephiroth frowned, slightly put out by the fact that he had to _drive_ to Leon's instead of walking there… the day was too beautiful to waste behind the wheel, but he had stupidly promised Sora and Riku _pizza_ for supper. The closest pizzeria was on a different island, first of all, and the place didn't deliver… and Leon didn't have his own car since he _loathed_ driving, so that meant Sephiroth couldn't have picked it up and had Leon drop him off at home…

Ugh. How trying.

Sephiroth got over his disappointment as soon as he was on the open road, though, hair whipping behind him as he rode along with the top down on his ebony convertible. Black, black, yes, everything he owned was black, from the furniture in his living room to the silk sheets on his bed, but he had an unnatural affinity for monochromatic colors. Riku couldn't stand all the darkness in their home - he told Sephiroth as much -, so he himself wore…

…_yellow_.

And consequently, playing mustard to Sora's ketchup, that boy constantly in _red_…

They were both so _odd_. Sephiroth had to admit, though, that's what made them such a good pair… they played well off each other, Riku's energy balancing out Sora's laziness, opposites in a lot of ways but the same in others and all of that…

As he neared Leon's house, the silver-haired man let the thoughts of home loose with the wind. Sephiroth was making room for _other_ things in his mind, now.

----------

It took a few minutes of non-stop slapping and garlic - makeshift smelling salts, courtesy of the head chef - shoved under his nose, but eventually Aerith, with the aid of a few of the more helpful, non-gawking patrons of the restaurant, finally managed to wake Cloud up. The blonde was quite dazed and disoriented upon reawakening, and barely able to remember his own _name_ for a while there, let alone the question he had asked, or the answer he received, but thankfully, he _did_ wake up.

Before Cloud had came back to reality, Aerith politely asked the troop of onlookers to not mention anything that happened to him, in fear that shock would send her boyfriend immediately back to the floor again. She never realized Cloud could be so sensitive…

So instead, she opted to jog his memory when they were back at her place, and ideally when they were in a room where Cloud could lay down, if worse came to worse. She didn't want him to end up _concussed_ or anything…

It wasn't until the next morning in bed when the girl brought the situation up, though, since all the blonde wanted to do was sleep when they returned. He did, too, like a log - yet Cloud was like a _quiet_ log, unlike her _last_ boyfriend… that one's snoring was liable to wake up half of Third District if Aerith hadn't prodded him or rolled him over when he got too loud…

And, like she wholly anticipated, Cloud didn't realize what he had done. In fact, he actually thought it was a bad, terribly embarrassing dream…

…oh, he knew in reality that he bought the ring for Aerith, just like he knew that he had planned on asking her in the restaurant, but the rest he hoped was just a figment of his imagination…

Of course, it wasn't. As much as he would've liked it to be.

He had the feeling he shouldn't have proposed in front of all those people, hadn't he? But he didn't take his logic's advice… he should have, but against better judgment…

When had his brain _ever_ led him astray before? Really, he should've listened…

He did still want to marry Aerith, though. And maybe even more now, just to prove that he wasn't a big, kittenish, fainting loser when the time came to walk up the aisle and exchange vows that he was probably going to be forced to write all on his own. But that was alright.

Because he loved her.

Cloud shifted, leant over his side of the bed, and snatched his pants from the floor as Aerith watched him curiously. After digging through the few pockets on that particular pair, his fingers closed around the small box which had inexplicably made its way back into his pants. Cloud was surprised that the box hadn't gone flying as soon as he hit the floor, but he was greatly relieved that it didn't. That proved the gods liked him enough to give him have at least _that_ much self-preservation.

"What are you doing?" Aerith asked, smiling as she adjusted the thin straps of her nightgown. Not that she couldn't tell what was going on already… but she did hope that the blonde wasn't going to literally get down on bended knee, because she really didn't want him to faint again…

He felt confident this time, holding the diamond, and his head felt clearer than he could ever remember it being. Cloud wasn't even nervous this time, his heart not racing, palms not sweating at all… but it was that eerie sort of calm.

Sort of like the 'calm before the storm'…

He prayed that nothing bad would happen again, or else he was _never_ going to be able to go through with this… so he should do it…

…now.

Cloud turned towards her, and gave her a thin smile in return. "Proposing."

Aerith winced as the blonde went to get up and out of bed, presumably wanting to come over to her side and do things the old-fashioned way, but she placed a small hand on his bare shoulder to stop him. "Just do it like this, okay? I don't want you to hurt yourself…"

The man frowned a little. Okay, _that_ hurt his confidence… and his pride… "No, it's alright. I want to."

"Cloud…"

Ignoring her plea, Cloud slipped out of bed and padded over to his girlfriend's side, feeling like a bit of an idiot for proposing to Aerith in a pair of boxers with hearts all over them. Well, she bought the things anyway, so he supposed it could have been considered even romantic in a way…

…except Cloud had to wonder why the hell she had to buy the pair with the _pink_ hearts. He realized that pink was Aerith's favorite color and all, but when Cloud added that to the fainting incident - which had dropped his total masculinity score down several very _deep_ notches - the hearts were currently bringing him down to total girl territory…

…and the floor was cold. Aerith really needed to buy a few area rugs or slippers for him or something. Traverse Town wasn't exactly the warmest of places - regardless of season - and—

"Cloud?"

"Hm?" The blonde blinked, suddenly aware that his brain wandered far off-track once more. He hadn't even managed to make it over to Aerith's side yet… instead, he stood like a goon at the edge of the bed, shifting from foot to foot in an effort to fight the evilness of the cold floor.

Cloud wondered how Aerith ever put _up_ with him sometimes…

Like a man on a mission, the blonde marched to the opposite side of the bed and dropped to one knee, the velvet-covered box once again cracked open, revealing the diamond that was all for her.

Aerith was impressed… Cloud's hands weren't shaking or _anything_.

"You don't need to ask me again, Cloud, I already said I would!" the brunette chuckled, giving her boyfriend a warm smile. "Really… just the once was enough."

"You really want to?" For some reason, Cloud sounded utterly incredulous.

The girl's smile broadened. "Of course I do… I love you, you fool."

Cloud got up and nudged Aerith's legs aside, making room for himself to sit on the bed. Easily he plucked the ring out of the box and with one hand snapped it closed, setting it away on the nightstand.

"You're sure now?" he asked again, inspecting the small golden band, "once you're wearing this thing, that means I'm not letting you go…"

Aerith held out her left hand with confidence. "Yes, Cloud… absolutely sure."

"Good," the blonde responded, slipping the ring onto her slender finger, "because I wasn't gonna take 'no' for an answer anyway." Cloud pressed his mouth to the back of Aerith's hand, before moving up to kiss the girl on her smiling lips.

"I love you so much, Cloud," the brunette murmured, giving him one in return.

"I love you too, Aerith."

Aerith smiled happily at the blonde, not even bothering to see how the ring looked on her hand. Cloud was all that mattered, now.

…well… kind of.

"Okay, time for you to get out," the girl jokingly started, clapping Cloud on his shoulders, "I want to call Tifa and tell her the news."

"…but Tifa…" The blonde frowned. "…you think she…?"

Aerith shook her head. "She'll be fine with it, trust me."

Cloud didn't quite believe _that_ statement. Tifa was one of Aerith's longtime friends, and the very day Aerith introduced the two of them, Tifa became… _very_ enamored with Cloud.

Like, near-obsessive enamored.

So much so, in fact, that Cloud had contemplated taking up a restraining order just so he'd be able to sleep at night.

He had to admit, Tifa was a very attractive girl, and nice as well, but he just wasn't interested in her that way. Cloud would've liked to be at least _friends_ with her, but he had a feeling that, had he been anything but distant to her, Tifa would take it the wrong way…

Plus, the way she fawned all over him made him… well, uncomfortable.

The blonde didn't know what it was that caused her to act that way towards him in the first place. She knew he was seeing Aerith, and religiously faithful to her as well… which was something he had to flat-out tell her the first time she actually _propositioned_ him - a fact that he was _not_ going to tell his girlfriend.

"…you sure?"

"She's over you, Cloud," the girl assured, pulling him into a warm embrace. "You don't have to worry…"

Yes, he did. He really did. But whatever, if that was what she wanted… "…if you say so."

"I want to call Dad, too," Aerith continued, "and my brothers. Is there anyone you'd like to call?"

Cloud rested his chin against her shoulder, arms wrapped loosely around her waist, and pursed his lips. "No… you know that…"

"Not even Zack?"

Cloud drew his eyebrows together in thought. "…Zack is like my 'Tifa', Aerith…"

"Not really… you never dated Tifa." The blonde took a moment to process this.

"…I still think it'd be weird."

Actually, the weirder thing was the fact that he had been friends with Zack at the time the black-haired man was going out with Aerith, back when Cloud went to private school at Destiny Islands - which happened to be his girlfriend's hometown, and the place she rested her head during summer breaks, or so she explained. And even though Cloud knew he had a girlfriend, Zack never introduced the two of them, never said the name… barely even mentioned her at all, really…

…then again, Cloud didn't think he would've been able to keep his mind in perfect order, either, if _he_ had been best friends with…

Well… nevermind that…

The blonde pulled away from Aerith and stood, giving her another peck on the lips. "I'm gonna go home now, alright?" Cloud announced, taking his clothes from the floor and dressing. "Have work at ten…," he clarified, running hand through his hair in attempt to fix the messier spikes before venturing out into the world.

"No problem." Aerith smiled at him, green eyes shining like emeralds. "Are you coming here right after, or do you want me to go to your apartment?"

"…I'll come back."

"Okay." The girl met Cloud with one final kiss. "I love you… and thank you for everything, Cloud…"

The corner of his mouth quirked upwards, working to smile. "Yeah… love you too… Aerith."

Her attention switched over to the telephone then, immediately dialing Tifa's number as Cloud left for home.

Oh joy of joys, thus begins another day in the life of Cloud…

——————————

__

A/N: I don't know what the hell's going on with this story. Really… I feel like I'm making everybody so freakin' **off**. Not badly OOC just yet, but… hm. I can't explain it… ::pauses:: Don't mind me.

Angsty!Riku already… ::dies:: I feel terrible for that poor boy when he's under my control… I put him in such shitty situations and that makes me feel **mean**. God, he comes out worse than my Cloud does half the time, and I'm **hell** on that man's mental stability, as you can see from the fainting and the pink, and other fics of mine, and… yes…

It's impossible for me to type 'Selphie' right on the first try since I've been typing 'Seph' for so long, and I don't even WANT to know how many times I almost ended up typing 'Sephy'… and I think I'd kill myself if Tidus was dating Sephy. X.X

In case anyone's wondering (or couldn't figure it out on your own…), yes, Sephiroth is 27-years old in this fic (because I want him to be goddammit) and the rest of the ages are canon… except Aerith, who doesn't have a canon age in KH as far as I'm aware, but I'm guessing she'd be 23 if you base it on Cloud's age like I do.

::pokes Uzumaki:: UPDATE! I NEED YOUR FICTIONS, WOMAN!! ::bribes you with… whatever she can, because she's desperate like that:: …ahem. ::blinks::

::makes eyes at everyone:: Review and I'll give you a cookie. ::blinks:: Or Seph/Leon… because it's just as tasty as a cookie would be. …maybe even more so. .; ::beats self over head:: You're a Seph/Cloud shipper, dangit! No more impure Seph/Leon thoughts!  
**Jen's Brain: **HA HA! I DON'T CARE!! ::infects!!:: Have some Seph x Zack!! And Seph/Riku even though it's **disgustingly inappropriate** in this particular fic!!  
…and it is. VERY. I'm surprised I still like that particular pairing after this…  
**Jen's Brain (not listening to me): **Have some Seph x Ansem as well!! And Seph x Cid with some Seph x Jecht despite the fact that neither pairing would make any sense at all yet you know you would accept them anyway because you ARE Cid if he was a younger redheaded female and… well, because you love Jecht!!  
.;;  
**Jen's Brain: **EAT!! ::attempts to force-feed me all manners of Sephiroth yaoi::

…O.o

…I am utterly hopeless.

And such a crackhead.


End file.
